Woman, girl hurt after porch catches fire on Le Grand

INDIANAPOLIS — A woman and child were seriously injured escaping a fire on the near southeast side believed to have started by what officials are calling “improperly discarded smoking material.”

Just before 2:30 a.m., crews say several neighbors in the 2300 block of Legrande Avenue (near S. Keystone and E. Raymond) called to report a front porch of a single story home was on fire.

According to the Indianapolis Fire Department, a man who lived at the home told them he had been smoking on the porch before he went to bed.

He said a noise woke him up, and he saw a “heavy involved” fire when he stepped outside to investigate. The man then went back inside to wake his daughter and granddaughter up.

All three were able to evacuate, but the girl and her mother sustained “serious injury” according to officials.

“It was really confined to the front porch area. It’ll be under investigation, but the gentleman says that was the last time anyone was on the porch was when he was out there at about 9 o’clock,” said Rita Reith, public information officer for IFD.

The girl is under 5 and was taken to Riley Hospital for Children. The woman is in her 20s and was sent to an Indianapolis hospital.

The fire is believed to have been caused by improperly discarded smoking material on the front porch. 

The man was not hurt. The home did have working smoke alarms that did activate.